John Carlson
02-14-2011, 01:15 PM
John, I wanted to reply to your concerns about decreasing the minimum length limit on muskellunge in Butternut and Solberg lakes as part of the statewide proposal to increase that limit from 34 to 40 inches on many other lakes.
The musky populations in Butternut and Solberg lakes are different by most common measures of population status. Likewise, there's different reasons for the recommendation to exempt these two lakes from the proposal. In Butternut Lake we believe musky in high abundance are competing among themselves for food in short supply, suppressing their growth rate, and preventing the population from attaining the desired size structure. Increasing the minimum length limit by 6 inches would protect those smaller, older males for several more years and worsen the competition among themselves for available food. This shortage decreases their growth rate dramatically, and they simply won't live long enough to reach desirable size. Unless we can decrease their abundance, most (but not all) will die from natural causes before they grow to 42 or 45 inches. Under the proposed exemption, the Butternut-Schnur Lake Association can continue to promote selective harvest of smaller, slow growing musky until we reach our goals for population density and size structure outlined in the Butternut Lake Fishery Management Plan. The Plan is available through our website at http://dnr.wi.gov/water/basin/upchip/fisheries/reports.htm.
The reasoning behind the exemption in Solberg Lake was not intended to promote selective harvest of smaller, slow growing musky (as the Butternut-Schnur Lake Association is doing), but rather to chose a musky harvest regulation suited to achieve the goals outlined for the entire fish community in the Solberg Lake Fishery Management Plan, which is also posted at http://dnr.wi.gov/water/basin/upchip/fisheries/reports.htm. More than a third of the participants in the 2005 planning session said they were interested in occasionally keeping a musky and they were interested in improving the size structure of the yellow perch population. In the Fishery Management Plan we saw "no need to depart from the statewide 34-inch minimum length limit for muskellunge Solberg Lake" when the Plan was finalized in early 2010. In the Plan we reasoned that "anglers interested in keeping a muskellunge occasionally can select from those between 34 and 38 inches long without jeopardizing goals for population size structure. Reducing muskellunge density slightly should in turn decrease predation of the larger yellow perch and improve our chances for success in attaining objectives for perch abundance and size structure" because muskies and northern pike selectively eat the largest perch in the population as one of their preferred foods.
If approved, the statewide proposal before the Conservation Congress in spring 2011 will increase the minimum length limit to 40 inches on all lakes where it is now 34 inches. The rule-making process allowed us to recommend lakes that should be exempted from the statewide 40-inch limit, and those exempt waters would have a 28-inch limit. In my opinion, a 40-inch limit at Solberg Lake would unnecessarily restrict anglers who expressed this unique preference to catch and keep a musky once in awhile, especially young anglers who would be forced to release a 38- or 39-inch fish of a lifetime. I would prefer to keep the existing 34-inch limit, or perhaps experiment with a protected slot range, but the available musky harvest regulations currently do not include options to maintain the status quo or to try a new approach. In my opinion, the best fit from options available to meet the objectives of the Fishery Management Plans was to exclude Solberg Lake from the statewide proposal.
With the catch-and-release ethic deeply rooted in most avid musky anglers, I do not foresee a sudden, increased demand to harvest muskies 28-40 inches long. Mail surveys indicated that only 2% of muskellunge anglers and 11% of non-muskellunge anglers consider some size less than 40 inches to be a "trophy." Based on the preferences of anglers at Solberg Lake and other traditional musky waters in the Upper Chippewa River Basin, we anticipate that anglers will continue to place great emphasis on size and continue to release most of the muskies they catch. Unlike the situation at Butternut Lake, I'm aware of no plan to promote selective harvest of musky in Solberg Lake. Successful live release will be essential if we hope to attain the objectives for musky in the Fish Management Plan, so I encourage you to cast your vote in support of Question 1 requiring the use of quick-strike rigs when using minnows longer than 10 inches as bait.
I'm glad to hear that you and other anglers are catching muskies longer than 40 in Butternut Lake. We've also seen some recent improvement in musky population size structure, based on our 2008 surveys results, but we believe population density in Butternut Lake remains higher than the target level.
I hope this explanation and the information in the Fishery Management Plan outline my rationale for excluding Solberg Lake from the statewide proposal for a 40-inch minimum length limit on muskies. Jeff Scheirer, Fishery Biologist
The musky populations in Butternut and Solberg lakes are different by most common measures of population status. Likewise, there's different reasons for the recommendation to exempt these two lakes from the proposal. In Butternut Lake we believe musky in high abundance are competing among themselves for food in short supply, suppressing their growth rate, and preventing the population from attaining the desired size structure. Increasing the minimum length limit by 6 inches would protect those smaller, older males for several more years and worsen the competition among themselves for available food. This shortage decreases their growth rate dramatically, and they simply won't live long enough to reach desirable size. Unless we can decrease their abundance, most (but not all) will die from natural causes before they grow to 42 or 45 inches. Under the proposed exemption, the Butternut-Schnur Lake Association can continue to promote selective harvest of smaller, slow growing musky until we reach our goals for population density and size structure outlined in the Butternut Lake Fishery Management Plan. The Plan is available through our website at http://dnr.wi.gov/water/basin/upchip/fisheries/reports.htm.
The reasoning behind the exemption in Solberg Lake was not intended to promote selective harvest of smaller, slow growing musky (as the Butternut-Schnur Lake Association is doing), but rather to chose a musky harvest regulation suited to achieve the goals outlined for the entire fish community in the Solberg Lake Fishery Management Plan, which is also posted at http://dnr.wi.gov/water/basin/upchip/fisheries/reports.htm. More than a third of the participants in the 2005 planning session said they were interested in occasionally keeping a musky and they were interested in improving the size structure of the yellow perch population. In the Fishery Management Plan we saw "no need to depart from the statewide 34-inch minimum length limit for muskellunge Solberg Lake" when the Plan was finalized in early 2010. In the Plan we reasoned that "anglers interested in keeping a muskellunge occasionally can select from those between 34 and 38 inches long without jeopardizing goals for population size structure. Reducing muskellunge density slightly should in turn decrease predation of the larger yellow perch and improve our chances for success in attaining objectives for perch abundance and size structure" because muskies and northern pike selectively eat the largest perch in the population as one of their preferred foods.
If approved, the statewide proposal before the Conservation Congress in spring 2011 will increase the minimum length limit to 40 inches on all lakes where it is now 34 inches. The rule-making process allowed us to recommend lakes that should be exempted from the statewide 40-inch limit, and those exempt waters would have a 28-inch limit. In my opinion, a 40-inch limit at Solberg Lake would unnecessarily restrict anglers who expressed this unique preference to catch and keep a musky once in awhile, especially young anglers who would be forced to release a 38- or 39-inch fish of a lifetime. I would prefer to keep the existing 34-inch limit, or perhaps experiment with a protected slot range, but the available musky harvest regulations currently do not include options to maintain the status quo or to try a new approach. In my opinion, the best fit from options available to meet the objectives of the Fishery Management Plans was to exclude Solberg Lake from the statewide proposal.
With the catch-and-release ethic deeply rooted in most avid musky anglers, I do not foresee a sudden, increased demand to harvest muskies 28-40 inches long. Mail surveys indicated that only 2% of muskellunge anglers and 11% of non-muskellunge anglers consider some size less than 40 inches to be a "trophy." Based on the preferences of anglers at Solberg Lake and other traditional musky waters in the Upper Chippewa River Basin, we anticipate that anglers will continue to place great emphasis on size and continue to release most of the muskies they catch. Unlike the situation at Butternut Lake, I'm aware of no plan to promote selective harvest of musky in Solberg Lake. Successful live release will be essential if we hope to attain the objectives for musky in the Fish Management Plan, so I encourage you to cast your vote in support of Question 1 requiring the use of quick-strike rigs when using minnows longer than 10 inches as bait.
I'm glad to hear that you and other anglers are catching muskies longer than 40 in Butternut Lake. We've also seen some recent improvement in musky population size structure, based on our 2008 surveys results, but we believe population density in Butternut Lake remains higher than the target level.
I hope this explanation and the information in the Fishery Management Plan outline my rationale for excluding Solberg Lake from the statewide proposal for a 40-inch minimum length limit on muskies. Jeff Scheirer, Fishery Biologist